25 reviews of this school

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Marshall Academy Of The Arts5

Posted June 23, 2014
- a parent

PTA Meetings at Marshall are what they are supposed to be...filled with caring, dedicated and motivated parents and teachers. That is what it is like each month. Mr. Navia is there always with a motivational story about a student, or a teacher or new things that are happening...there are parents who came last year to join the PTA board whose children won't be attending until this year. That is the level of commitment this PTA has achieved. I think it is outstanding! I have never had a board position. I am a worker bee and volunteer for as many things as possible. The team of leaders are working parents who make the effort to give back 150% to their kids and their school. It's an amazing collaboration between the school and the families. There is always childcare available so you can bring your kids...They often have water and snacks and sometimes even dinner so you won't go home hungry. My child just graduated but I am not done with Marshall. I already told Mr. Navia that I will continue to give to this amazing school. I plan to return and help the library get up to speed among other things they need. It's just that great!

As a teacher at Marshall Academy of the Arts, I have been through a litany of changes; all been learning experiences but not necessarily good ones for the culture of our students. Within the past 4 years, the drastic shift in school climate has been a tremendous infusion of positive energy, giving me a renewed passion to explore new strategies to infuse in my teaching practices, and this with the overwhelming support from the administration! Mr. Navia has been instrumental in allowing his instructors to teach from a pragmatic, yet dynamic perspective, encouraging us to try innovative activities with our students and use outside resources such as field trips and assemblies to supplant curricular standards. It's become a very different place from 5 years ago. Bullying, under NO circumstance, is tolerated at Marshall. Mr. Navia brought "Rachel's Challenge", a wonderful program to educate the staff and students on the detrimental affects of bullying; physical bullying, teasing, racial slurs, and even cyber bullying is IMMEDIATELY addressed and squashed when discovered by any staff members and students, providing a safe learning environment that is vital for all stakeholders.

We pulled our child out of a K-8 school and put her here. The main reason is current principal at the K-8 school over the years did not enforce the rules, pulled school spirit down and did very little about bullying. We observed that Mr. Navia has made numerous positive changes to this once struggling school. The biggest complaint from my child was how difficult P.E was. Marshall prides itself in having one of the toughest, award winning P.E. programs in the district. They have top notch instructors that challenge the students daily, yet make it fun, too. It has been a huge adjustment for my child, but I see my child is getting used to it! They call it "boot camp." I have observed it and love the order and school spirit it brings. The PTA is growing with more community parental involvement every year! On another note, there is a review here written on July 9, 2013 which is untrue, since Marshall has a "no bully" policy that they enforce. They make it clear to all students that "it is an honor to attend Marshall and any bully will be told to leave." It sounds like a mean spirited individual who wanted to bring the start rating down by making a false statement.

First and foremost, this school has the best Principal ever! He is very interested in the students' academic needs and their well being. He brings with him a sense of trust and discipline. Additionally, he shows his fun side to the kids and staff. Secondly, and equally important are the teaching staff. The teachers her follow suit in showing the kids trust, discipline, and a sense of fun in learning. They truly make it enjoyable for kids to learn. The environment is conducive to learning and enjoying the learning experience. It's a trickle down effect that reaches the other staff and the students. It's an awesome school!

I love this school. I have 2 boys there. Mr. Navia is an excellent principal. All the teachers & staff there are great with the kids. They encourage & motivate the kids. I couldn't of asked for a better school for my kids to attend.

Marshall Academy of The Arts is a wonderful school, that everyone should go to! All the teachers are the nicest ones I have ever had, and they are very helpful, friendly, and teach in a unique way. There is little possible ways to bully someone here if one wanted to since the teachers and staff are always around during lunch, watching us, and during passing period too! As far as any "drugs" are concerned, I have seen no one selling drugs, taking drugs, or appearing in any way "under the influence" of any drug. The staff is hard on students who display any kind of bad conduct, and they are very often expelled, or suspended if an incident occurs that even relates to the ones that someone below has mentioned. The students would have no reason to dis-respect any teachers because they are so nice, helpful, and relatable, every student here has a teacher who they could talk to if any thing bad would happen, and that they trust. This is an amazing school and please don't let some of these bad reviews below persuade you from at least learning about this amazing school!

Marshall Academy of the Arts is one of the most dynamic schools I have come across. I experienced first hand the transformation of this school. Marshall was once a struggling school to now becoming one of the most sought after. Marshall's administration and staff create a positive learning environment for all. The administration not only supports teachers in their curriculum but also allowing them to be as creative as possible with the content standards in order to engage their students. It is a pleasure working at a school where the staff put students first. The dedication of this staff shows every year when California Standardized test scores continue to increase in all subjects and in all grade levels. What really sets Marshall Academy of the Arts aside from other schools is how incredibly excited students are to come to school to learn!!!

We are finishing up our third year and I wasn't trilled that we were kept at our home school. I also knew that changes needed to be made there. Well the District new what the major changes were and made the best choice by placing Michael Navia in the lead. As soon as I heard that they were becoming an Arts Academy I knew it was big. Great, positive changes have been made including PTA growth. I'm a little sorry to not be in the middle of the boom but am glad for the part I've played to change Marshall to the neighborhood school we deserve and are proud to send our children to.

I have a 6th grader at Marshall. I was very hesitant to send my son here since API and test scores have been historically low. We applied for school of choice so that we could send our son to a different middle school. Our School of Choice application was denied and he was assigned our home school which is Marshall. We considered sending him to private school when he was assigned to Marshall but after speaking to teachers and principals in the district, including teachers and the principal at Marshall, we decided to give Marshall a chance. I could't be happier that we decided to give Marshall a chance. The teachers, principals, and kids are great! My son is happy and looks forward to going to school. The kids are challenged and enjoy being in the classroom. The band/music programs get stronger and stronger every year as well as their sports program. The PTA gets bigger, stronger and more involved every year and we all know that schools with active and strong PTA's make strong schools. API and test scores have been going up every year as well. I will now not hesitate in sending my younger son to Marshall when it comes time for him to start middle school.

I am a parent of a 8th grade student that attends this school who started attending in 6th grade. I have had an amazing experience with the principal and all the teachers that my child has had. My son is in the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program and I have nothing but good things to say about how successful he has become being a part it. The school administration give the students incentive to do well performance wise on testing (free dress for those who score proficient on quarter exams) or being able to eat lunch with the principal if you are voted by a teacher as student of the month. I believe that these incentives create an environment of learning that students WANT or STRIVE to work toward higher achievements (there is nothing wrong with healthy competition). Students (as shallow as this may sound) need to see that their efforts are not going to waste. Middle school students especially are going through many changes and if they can just get on the right path and be in a learning environment that both challenges and rewards them.